Chicken Satay

Chicken is a staple in our house - probably 90% of dinners are made featuring chicken. We have enough favorites that repeating the same dishes doesn’t get old, but every once in a while I want to try something new. I really like trying new marinades because I can prep everything the night before and then just pop the meat in the oven (or fry in a pan) when it’s time to eat. This recipe is for a satay-style marinade. Satay is a traditional dish in Indonesia, and is also quite popular in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and other Southeast Asian countries. There are many, many varieties - traditionally, satay refers to any grilled skewered meats with various sauces, the most popular of which is peanut sauce. This recipe turns a peanut-based sauce into a marinade for a tangy, peanut-y chicken dish. I have made this dish both by broiling (pictured) and pan-frying, and am eagerly waiting for grilling weather to prepare it in the more traditional way - skewered and grilled.

Ingredients: ~6 servings

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or ~1.5lb chicken breast fillets)

~¼ cup all natural creamy peanut butter

~¼-½ cup barbecue sauce

~¼ cup lime juice (fresh tastes best)

1-2 tsp fresh or dried cilantro

Combine peanut butter, barbecue sauce, lime juice, and cilantro in a bowl and mix well. Add chicken and toss, making sure each piece is coated. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least one hour (preferably overnight).

When ready to cook, place chicken in a single layer in a baking dish or broiling pan and broil 10-15 minutes on each side until chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of 165F) and has a nice char. Serve with your favorite side.

~Karla

Note: You can also cook in a pan - cut the marinated chicken thighs roughly into thirds (or use chicken breast fillets) and pan-fry on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes on each side (no oil necessary). Then, cook any remaining marinade in the same pan to make a tangy pâté-type spread.

Find us on Facebook
 

Chicken Satay - chicken in a delicious peanut sauce with a tangy twist!http://cooksofcakeandkindness.blogspot.com/2016/03/chicken-satay.html

Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Asian Lasagna

A few years ago, we cooked a ‘mostly vegetarian’ Thanksgiving meal, with the star of our dinner being a zucchini lasagna. The Parmesan-vegetable sauce blanketing layers of zucchini, topped with mozzarella cheese was just what we needed for a scrumptious Thanksgiving meal. If prepped properly, the vegetables don’t get soggy, and form beautiful layers. Its a great substitute for pasta if you want a lighter, healthier lasagna.

This recipe is a similar preparation, but with an Asian twist! I used extra firm tofu along with vegetables - its the best thing to soak up all the amazing flavors from the marinade and the vegetables, and it firms up as it bakes making the texture quite delectable.

Ingredients (For a 9x13 baking pan: ~10 servings)

For the layers

1 large eggplant

3 small-medium zucchini squash (I used 2 green + 1 yellow)

1 medium carrot

3-4 radishes

14 oz (or more) extra firm tofu

For the sauce

16 oz mushrooms (finely chopped - I used food processor)

5-6 green onions (separate the onion bulb from the shoots and slice the onion part for the sauce, reserving the shoots for marinade and/or garnish; Can also use regular onion chopped)

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp grated ginger (or ginger powder)

1 tsp sesame oil (or olive oil)

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp honey

For marinade (Adjust ingredients to taste if required)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp honey

sliced green onions (optional)

Prepping the veggies for layering:

This step is required to remove excess water from the vegetables so that they don’t get soggy while baking. It can be done in a pan on the stovetop, or in the oven. Since the volume was quite high, I decided to use the oven for this.

Slice the eggplant about ⅛ - ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle with some salt and lay them on paper towels. Put some weight on eggplant slices to let some of the moisture drain out.

Slice the zucchini ⅛ - ¼ inch thick. I decided not to slice them lengthwise, but that would also work. Sprinkle with just a little bit of salt.

Spread out the eggplant and zucchini in a single layer on a baking sheet if possible (it’s okay if it overlaps though). Preheat oven to 400 F and roast the eggplant and zucchini for ~20 minutes until they are a little tender (they will cook more later, so don’t keep them in too long).

Thinly slice the carrots and radishes.

Prepping the tofu:

While the veggies are roasting, drain and squeeze the block of tofu; cut it into ¼ inch slices. I like to squeeze out water one more time after slicing. Mix all the marinade ingredients, and let the tofu soak in the marinade for ~20-30 minutes.

Making the sauce:

Heat sesame oil on medium heat, add the onions, ginger, garlic. Saute for a minute, then add the mushrooms and cook uncovered stirring frequently till the moisture from the mushrooms is reduced. Add soy sauce, vinegar, and honey, adjusting to taste. The sauce shouldn’t be very liquidy.

Assembling:

Line a baking dish (I used a 9x13 pan) with aluminum foil (it’s okay not to, just makes cleanup easier). Spread a thin layer of the mushroom sauce on the bottom. Lay down marinated tofu in a single layer, followed by a layer of eggplant slices. Top that with a layer of zucchini, another thin layer of mushroom sauce, and then the carrots and radishes. Repeat layering the eggplant-zucchini-sauce-carrots-radishes until you run out (I got 2 layers). Top with the remaining tofu (I was just short of a complete layer). Spoon over about ¼-⅓ cup of the leftover marinade evenly on top.

Baking!

Bake in preheated oven (400 F) for 25-30 min until all the vegetables are cooked through and there aren’t any noticeable pools of liquid.

Remove from the oven, let it stand for a few minutes, then slice and serve topped with more marinade if desired.

Serving suggestion:

I served this Asian lasagna with a simple coleslaw salad tossed with a lemon-ginger dressing. However, it would go very well with rice or noodles. The marinade is quick and easy to make, and can be used as a sauce for the noodles or rice.

~Gayatri

Like us on Facebook:
 

Asian Lasagna - layers of goodness!http://cooksofcakeandkindness.blogspot.com/2015/08/asian-lasagna.html

Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Thursday, August 6, 2015

Balsamic-marinated Porto-Bell-Pepper Sandwiches

I got this recipe straight from my mom, and every time I make it I can't get enough, it's so deliciously tangy! I typically use it to marinate bell peppers and Portobello mushroom slices, but carrots, snap peas, broccoli, onions, and even proteins like chicken or tofu can also work well. It can really be used for anything you care to try!

 

 

Ingredients: (makes 6-8 sandwiches)

3 bell peppers, sliced (I use one each of red, yellow, and orange, and avoid green because of its strong, not-so-sweet flavor)

~4 Portobello mushroom caps, sliced about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick

For the marinade:

1 cup canola or extra virgin olive oil

6 TBSP balsamic vinegar

4 TBSP grainy mustard (I use regular yellow condiment mustard)

2 TBSP lemon juice

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp salt (optional - I usually skip the salt)

 

 

Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl or large Ziploc bag and mix well. Add sliced mushrooms and peppers to the bowl or bag and stir or shake contents so everything is well-coated in the marinade. Set aside and refrigerate for 8-48 hours (I will usually let it sit for at least a day).

 

When ready to cook, heat oven to 400F. Spoon the veggies into a baking pan (I use a 9x13 brownie pan). If you have excess marinade, you can save it and use as salad dressing. Bake the veggies 15-30 minutes, depending on how crunchy or soft you like them. I prefer a bit softer, so I usually bake 30 minutes.

 

A lot of the time, I will make a double batch of the marinade and use it for chicken as well as veggies. About 12 boneless skinless chicken thighs or 6 chicken breasts (halved or quartered) will work well for this amount of marinade. Bake the chicken at 400F for an hour.

 

When done baking, let the veggies (and/or chicken) cool for 5-10 minutes. Assemble sandwiches using your bread of choice - ciabatta works quite well! Garnish with tomato, lettuce, sprouts, etc. if desired. Makes a deliciously colorful and juicy sandwich!

 

 

~Karla

 

NOTE: You can also serve with rice instead of making sandwiches. Leftover marinade makes for great snacking with excess rice!

Not Quite Teriyaki

This recipe is inspired by my Filipino heritage and one of my favorite dishes - my mom's Chicken Adobo. I'll post the recipe for adobo some other time, but one of the base ingredients (besides chicken) is soy sauce. I love making adobo, especially when it comes out tasting just like my mom's ;-)

Sometimes, however, I'm too impatient (or maybe too lazy =P) to measure out the proportions of soy sauce, water, vinegar, etc. necessary for the tangy deliciousness of adobo. So I started just mixing things together without bothering to measure anything, and ironically (or maybe not so ironically) the initial experimentation process turned out to take longer than just following the adobo recipe in the first place! But the process has since been refined (sort of) and has led to this recipe, which I dubbed "Not Quite Teriyaki." It is basically a soy-based marinade that is sweet like teriyaki sauce, but not thick or syrupy like most teriyaki sauces. And it excludes one of the key teriyaki ingredients.

Since this was a make-it-up-as-I-go recipe, I'm just going to list the ingredients and guesstimate the measurements. I'll include some variants that I've tried that turned out pretty okay. The final marinade is highly dependent on personal preference...hence a lot of taste-testing along the way ;-) I like to use this marinade with both chicken and fish (salmon, to be exact - it's my favorite).

Base Ingredients:
Soy sauce
Water
Sugar (or sugar substitute - I'm partial to Splenda)
Ground ginger
Garlic powder

Variants (additional ingredients)
Orange juice, lemon or lime juice (for a citrus-soy marinade)
Black pepper
Vinegar (for a bit of a tangy bite)

For the base marinade: Mix about 1-2 tsp ginger, 1-2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 - 1 cup sugar. Add 1/2 - 3/4 cup soy sauce, 1 - 1.5 cups water and mix.

What I actually do is dump some sugar in a bowl, sprinkle ginger and garlic powder over it so it makes sort of a thin layer on top of the sugar, mix it together, then add water and soy sauce and taste-test to to make sure it's not too watery, salty or sweet. Then I proceed to adjust the amount of each ingredient until the sauce taste is to my liking.

For the citrus-soy variant, add about equal amounts of soy sauce and orange juice and maybe a couple tablespoons of lemon or lime juice (or a mix of both). Again, the final product will be very dependent on personal preference.

Once the sauce is mixed, place chicken or fish in a sealable container and, using a fork, poke holes into the meat to let the sauce seep in. Pour the sauce over the meat so that it is mostly submerged. Let it sit for 1-2 days in the refrigerator. When you're ready to cook, place the meat in a broiling or baking pan and:

For fish: broil 4-5 minutes on each side

For chicken: broil 5-7 minutes on each side or bake at 375 F for 1.25 - 1.5 hours (for chicken, I think baking is better, if you have the time!)

To make a sort of "au jus" type dipping sauce with the leftover marinade, pour it into a saucepan and bring to a low boil, then let it simmer for roughly 10 minutes. Serve meat over rice or noodles (or by itself!) and pour sauce over dish as desired!



I've made this plenty of times with both chicken and fish, but am usually too eager to dig in to stop and take a picture of the finished product! Thankfully, Gayatri swooped in with her camera one time when I made salmon, pictured above with brown rice and seaweed salad - store-bought, but something I'll attempt in the future!

~Karla